Fried burritos with mango chutney

Since I'm leaving in a few days (I'm going to D.C. for the rest of the week), I decided I had to clean my fridge of all the food that might spoil during my absence. Also, a friend of mine challenged me to make something I've never made before, something requiring a special trip to the store, or a squash-based soup.

I told her that, since I'm leaving, I don't want to buy more food that might spoil. I didn't feel like eating squash soup either, so I finally decided to use an ingredient I've never used in cooking before: mangoes!

Why mangoes? Well, I looked in my kitchen and thought to myself "what have I never used for cooking here?" Then I remembered I had mangoes that I got for making smoothies for breakfast. I know mangoes blend really well, being an expert mango smoothie maker and all that, but could I make some sort of sauce using them? Of course.

Still, I had to get rid of a few things also. Mainly zucchini, yellow squash (it has "squash" in the name, does that count?), mushrooms and a bunch of cilantro. Cilantro! I always think of mexican (or tex-mex?) food when I see (or smell) cilantro. So, burritos it is.

Burrito filling

• 1 medium potato (to give it some nice filling consistency), peeled
• 1/4 onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 zucchini
• 1/2 yellow squash
• 4 white mushrooms (the regular, boring kind)
• chopped cilantro

First, chop all the vegetables, herbs, and fungi. Heat a pan with some olive oil and start by sautéing the onion, garlic, and potatoes over medium heat. Stirring often to avoid burning.

When the potato is soft, add the zucchini, squash, and mushrooms. Keep cooking until tender. Add some salt, chili powder, pepper, or whatever else you want. Don't forget about the cilantro. Add it too.

Set aside.

Meanwhile, make the...

Mango chutney

I don't really know what "chutney" is, but it sounds fancy and sauce-like. I'll keep using it until someone corrects me.

In any case, it's a spicy mango sauce. The ingredients have no measures: it all depends on your taste.

• a few pieces of mango
• a few slices of jalapeño (can be cured or fresh. I used cured and added some of the juice)
• juice of 1 lime (or lemon)
• some sugar, these mangoes were not as sweet as the Puerto Rican version
• salt, optional. I just added a pinch.
• more cilantro!

Throw all the ingredients into a blender, food processor, chopping board, or whatever contraption serves the purpose. You want to bring it to a thick syrupy consistency. In my case, I didn't want the thing to turn green from the cilantro, so I added it later and did not blend it with the rest of the ingredients.

Assemble

Now it's time to create the actual burritos. You just need flour tortillas. I used the small kind; it's easier to fry.

Moisten the tortilla to make it easier to work with, and to give it a crisper texture when frying. I don't know if this is true, but at least they were crispy.

Form the burritos by adding some of the veggie mixture in an off-center position, fold the edges over the veggies and roll the whole thing. If your burrito skills are not up to par, you can hold it with a toothpick. Carefully place it in a pan with a generous amount hot oil. It should start sizzling like crazy when you put it, so use one of those nice mesh-type frying pan covers. Alternatively, jump away as soon as you drop the burrito. Careful not to burn your house down. If it doesn't sizzle when you put it, it's not time to put it yet.

Turn it around when it starts getting golden in color and fry on the other side. Skip this step if you are using a deep-frying machine-type thing, which I don't have.

Turn off the heat. Remove the stuff from the frying pan and place on a paper towel, or pat dry, to absorb the excess oil.

Finally. Pour some of that sweet-and-spicy mango thing on top of the burrito, or use it as a dip, and eat up!

The verdict

The good

I loved the contrast between the crispy exterior and the soft filling. It felt almost like a samosa, but the burrito had a more delicate "skin" than the thicker exterior of a samosa.

The flavor was good. Especially the balance between the salty burrito with the sweet mango. The spiciness kicked the flavor up a notch.

The bad

Next time I would omit the mushrooms. The flavor turned out to be too much; almost overpowering. I would test this with different kinds of vegetables. The potato gave it a good consistency, though.

The ugly

Be careful when rolling the burrito to make sure it doesn't break. The first burrito I put on the frying pan came apart. I ended up with a mass of fried vegetables and chunks of broken crispy tortilla. It tasted good, though ;) (yeah, I ate it, ok?)